Bringing you news, commentary, and opinions on all things FSU.

April 30, 2012

Seminole Scott teams up with a reptilian opponent to produce a show worth hearing

Ever eavesdrop on guys talking college football? Guys who sound like they know what they're talking about? That's what it's like to wrap your ears around a listenable new podcast called Friends Except Saturday. It's the work of Scott, an FSU grad, and Bryan who attended a certain school to the southeast. You can catch FES via iTunes. But first, some background from the show's better half.

Scott: First of all, thank you to Rich and Chantrant.com for giving us a forum to introduce our podcast. I have been a reader of the site for a very long time, and it is an honor to be a part of it. Bryan and I really appreciate that support and that you have given our show.

When did you go to FSU and what are your favorite games or sports-related moments during that time?

Scott: I started at Florida State in the summer of 1999. Not a bad year to start going to FSU huh? I’m sure it would be easy to say that the 1999 championship was my fondest moment, but that would be false. Although it was awesome to witness a national championship, I hadn’t yet become a huge fan, and didn’t yet appreciate the magnitude of the event and how few times a fan base gets to experience it.

In terms of a favorite moment, I would have to be split into two:

• “31-7”. Such a satisfying feeling to finally beat a team that had, for what felt like forever, walked all over FSU. The helmet paint chipping hit by Moody on Demps was amazing. But the moment in that game that stands out the most was Eddie Gran saying to Jimbo Fisher “They quit… Jimbo, they quit” (link), when referring to Urban Meyer giving up on the game, and consequently the Gators later that year.

• The other moment that sticks with me the most was being seated in the same end zone where the infamous Stanford Samuel vs. Roscoe Parrish hit happened. The sound alone was intense, but just being right there to witness that impact was incredible. I thought Parrish would never play again, just from the impact of the collision. Although FSU lost that game, it was just a once in a lifetime thing to be right there for history.

How did your show start, whose idea and how often will you produce new episodes?

Scott: The show started because we were tired of hearing podcasts from writers who didn’t sound like anyone we talked to about sports. It always sounded like they had a script of bullet points they wanted to cover that made it so robotic and stale. And what little banter the hosts had outside of the topics they wanted to cover, seemed forced and uncomfortable. We wanted to hear something smarter, funnier, and more honest than just your typical X’s and O’s podcast.

In terms of the schedule for new episodes, the hope is to have a new episode out at least once a week, hopefully more. It all depends on how much time we have during the week, as we both work full time jobs.

Is the focus 100% college football in Florida?

Scott: We are not tied down to just have to talk about FSU and UF. That’s what makes what we do different than what you have come to expect from a FSU or UF podcast. Whatever is on our minds we talk about, just like any other fan would.

If we have FSU or UF topics we want to discuss, we do. But the podcast doesn’t always have to focus on our schools. Just in the first few podcasts we’ve done so far we’ve hit all kinds of topics like: The Petrino scandal, Notre Dame Loyalists, the decline of Canes football, and even had a draft to pick the pro players we feel are most likely to go bankrupt first. Whatever is interesting us that day, gets talked about. I wanted the podcast to be a reflection of the conversations we have all the time: Honest, uncensored and fun.

I really hope everyone gives the podcasts a shot. I am really proud of what we produce and think that listeners will really enjoy it.

How is a Nole able to work closely with a gator? Are there certain topics you stay away from on the show, or will the rivalry produce some "spirited" and memorable listening -- especially during football season?

Scott: Bryan and I are in fact very good friends outside of the podcast. We wanted to show that it is possible to be friends with someone who is a huge fan for of your team’s rival, and that you can have intelligent conversation about those teams without constantly dogging the other team. We try to be as honest as possible about the state of both teams at all times. I feel like if you aren’t, you just sound like a homer, and no one is going to take what you say seriously.

Bryan and I get along just fine, except for Saturdays of course. But even then we try to remember how cyclical college football is, and try not to rub in wins or losses too much, because it doesn’t take long for fortunes (good or bad) to shift.

We make it a rule to not shy away from topics. If we find it interesting, we talk about it. If we exhaust a subject we move on. There is no minimum or maximum time for any given subject. If it takes 5 minutes to talk about it, then we stop at 5; if it takes 50, then we go 50.

That being said, we will go after each other if the other team does something that warrants discussion, stealing a taco for instance.

Where can we hear your podcast and subscribe? And will listeners be able to interact by phone or email?

Scott: Your readers can listen to the podcast directly from the site: www.fespodcast.com. You can even listen through the site on your mobile phone through the mobile version of our website.

They can also download or stream from ITunes by searching “Friends Except Saturday” or going to this link.

Also they can also follow us on twitter @FESPodcast And lastly they can subscribe to our rss feed here.

There isn’t a call in option yet, but we would welcome email questions. Readers can email me (Scott) at scott@fespodcast.com and Bryan at bryan@fespodcast.com, or just post in the “Contact us” portion of the website.